A Sheepy Friend and new yarn....

My friend, Chris, gave me this big, fluffy sheep on Thursday. Isn't it cute? Very soft and cuddly.

Here are some new skeins of yarn I received in the last week or so. On the left is Cherry Tree Hill from my Loopy Ewe sock club package, middle is Wollmeise (also from The Loopy Ewe) andon the right is my Yarn Pirate sock club yarn. I really love them all.
We had a nice Easter yesterday. We went to church then to see Tom's mom. The afternoon was spent relaxing and then we had a nice dinner with ham, scalloped potatoes, green beans, and the ever so nummy snickers salad. (Snickers, green apples, mandarin oranges, cool whip and vanilla pudding) Last night I finished up the last pair of mittens I'm making this year for Maggie's friends. We still have a lot of snow and more is predicted tomorrow! I am so ready for spring!!!

I will have a finished pair of socks to show tomorrow. The first one was done in June!!! I had a bit of second sock syndrome. Happy knitting!!

Surgery...

On Thursday I will be having a procedure called a Nissan Fundoplication as described here. I have been dealing with acid reflux since I was pregnant with Grant. It got worse with each pregnancy and I've been taking Nexium twice a day for a long time. I'm still having problems and they can't increase the medication so this is the next step. Since November I've had ultrasounds, CT scans, endoscopy, and manometry done. I will be in the hospital 2-3 days and on a liquid diet for 2 weeks. I hope to get a lot of knitting done. The only concern I have is the nausea after surgery. I hope they give me lots of drugs to counteract this.

I'll try to update my blog again before Thursday and hopefully will be feeling better by the following Monday. Happy Easter!

1000 Knitters...

Yesterday at Yellow Dog Knitting I had my picture taken by Franklin Habit for his book project to photograph 1000 knitters. It was very nice to meet him. He is so friendly and I wasn't nervous at all. I was the first one for the day and I'm not sure what number I was exactly. I believe he photographed approx. 50 knitters yesterday. Our local newspaper even wrote an article about the event. Knitters rule! Go read Franklin's blog. It is wonderful.

In the afternoon I went up to Woodbury for a gathering of my high school friends. We have been having a Christmas party every year since our senior year. It has been hard to gather in December, so in the past five years or so, it has been in January. Well, somehow we didn't get our acts together and found ourselves gathering in March this year. There are about 25 or so of us, but only 13 were able to attend yesterday. It was so much fun catching up with everyone. Most of us have children and the ages range from 25 to 3 1/2. One of my friend's is planning her daughter's wedding. I think this is the first wedding for our group. So far no one is a grandma. Ugh! I can't believe I even wrote that. Am I really old enough to have high school friend's who could be grandmas. Scary!! We stayed up until 3:00 a.m talking and laughing. I had to take a nap this afternoon! :)

Tomorrow the kids and I head out for our mini-vacation to the Mall of America. I am looking forward to it and so are the kids. Happy knitting!!!

NEW FAMILY MEMBER....
Here is Sadie Lynn. We got her on Saturday from the Eau Claire County Humane Association. She is a doll. I didn't think I was ready, and I do still miss Gracie a lot, but Sadie is so fun. She is six months old. The dogs are getting along well with her. Richie a.k.a. Fat Cat is still adjusting. He was trying to play with her today, so that is a good sign.

Blankie Pictures

Here are some updated pictures of my blankie. Shelly has completed her blankie and that inspired me to get mine out and work on it. I really do enjoy this project. I can do a few squares and feel like I've accomplished something.

Kids are on spring break next week, so we are going to the Mall of America on Monday and Tuesday. We haven't spent a lot of time at the mall in awhile, so I thought it would be a nice time to do this. A lot of people we know are heading to warmer climates and wonderful vacations, but this will have to do for now. The kids wish we were going somewhere tropical, but it is a very busy time for Tom at work and it is too hard for him to get away. I really didn't feel like going on a vacation with the kids myself. I did that once in 2001 and we had fun, but I want Tom to be able to go with us. We may take the kids to Florida this fall.

I need to get some work done. Have a good day!! Happy knitting!

A SAD DAY IN PACKERLAND.......

Well it is official, Brett retired. I was in denial up until the news conference this morning. I cried a lot, but so did the other women I was with today. I went to a friend's house for scrapbooking and we all sat on the couch and cried while Brett said his goodbye. I know he is a human being just like the rest of us, but he was so much fun to watch. I thought it was interesting how he stated that he knows what it is like to be dead. Watching all the sports coverage about his career must be pretty weird because it seems like we all are eulogizing him. Like he said, "All good things must come to an end."

Maggie, Patrick, and I went to the Chippewa County Humane Association to look at some kittens today. I thought I was ready to get another cat, but I'm not. Both of the kitties we were looking at are adorable, but it just didn't feel right in my heart. I guess I need more time.

I'll stop for now to go knit and watch the Eau Claire North High School boys basketball team play in the state tournament. Happy Knitting!!

We had my friend's daughter take pictures of Gracie last August since we weren't sure how long we would have her in our lives. This one is probably my favorite. I am so thankful that I have this one. I have set it to be my background on the computer screen. I wanted to share it with all of you. It really shows what a sweetie she was and how much fun we had watching her. I love how you can see her pretty pink nose and tongue. I'm missing her a lot and have been a bit emotional the past few days about her. Adding to the mood is stress over dealing with teenagers. I know that the decisions Tom and I make are in the best interests of the kids, but d@mn, it is hard. Someday the kids will know we did our best and hopefully with see that we just wanted to help shape them into wonderful members of society. We are trying to find the balance between being too strict yet giving limits that are appropriate for them. If they get to do whatever they want at 15 and 13 1/2 what do they have to look forward too? Is it ever going to be enough? Well, I hope you all enjoy my picture of Gracie. She gave me a lot of unconditional love, and I guess I'm missing that. Teenagers don't quite get that yet:(

More volleyball...

We had another tournament today. The good part was that it was here in Eau Claire, the bad part is that Maggie's team didn't play very good. She is frustrated and I don't blame her. She is very competitive and some girls on her team just don't take it seriously. They have one more tournament next Sunday in Rochester, MN and then they are done. I hate to admit it, but I'm glad. This has been a learning experience for all of us. She wants to try out for the club team again next year and I hope she makes it and has a more postive experience.

I have been knitting, just not blogging or taking pictures. I seem to have starteritis. Yes, I believe that is a made up name. I have started a sweater and frogged it, am working on my Diva sweater, have a mitten done and one more to go, started a scarf, and began designing a fair isle sweater. My ADD must be in full swing! :)

I'm tired and the dogs are looking for a lap to cuddle with. I'm going over to Ravelry then I'll hit the couch. Happy knitting.

SO CLOSE, YET SO FAR AWAY.....

I can't believe I was so close to the Mall of America this weekend and didn't get to go to the Knit Out. We were 30 minutes south of there for a volleyball tournament. I thought we would be able to leave between games, but when the girls weren't playing they had to referee other games. We didn't get done until 8:30 on Saturday night. We were back in Belle Plaine at 7:30 am on Sunday and left at 5:00. Check out Shelly's blog. She was at the Knit Out and has some good pictures.

We stopped in Hudson to eat on the way home. While I was getting out of the car, I realized too late that my foot was wrapped in the strap of my knitting bag! I fell and tried to brace myself with my hands. I think I sprained my right wrist. It hurts terribly and I am having some tingling and numbness in my fingers. I'm going to the chiropractor and she what she thinks. What a moron I am!!

Maggie said it was pretty funny when I fell. She said one minute I was getting out of the car and the next she saw me crawling up the side of the car. I'm sure it was a sight to see!!

My son turns 15 today! We are taking some of his friends to a movie this afternoon then just the family out to dinner tonight. Wow, I can't believe how fast the time has gone. 15 years, unbelieveable.

YES, THERE HAS BEEN KNITTING....

I have been knitting, just not blogging or taking pictures. I have started my Diva sweater and started another pair of mittens. My arthritis is really acting up so I haven't knit for a few days. I'm hoping that maybe tomorrow I can do some more knitting and perhaps get some pictures taken.

My husband gave me my Valentine's gift tonight. He bought me a sterling silver Green Bay Packer watch. It is really pretty. I had a wish list of several items at my favorite jewelry store, Williams Diamond Center, and this was on my list. I had some very reasonably priced items, starting at $54 and going all the way up to $3200. It doesn't hurt to dream does it? Well, the watch was at the lower end of the price list. I knew I wouldn't get any of the higher priced items, and that is okay. It was just fun going in and putting beautiful things on the list. I was happy that the watch was on sale. My husband is very good about gift giving. I guess I've trained him well :)

This weekend Maggie has a two day volleyball tournament up in the Twin Cities. We will be going up Saturday morning. Our hotel is in Eden Prairie and I'm hoping we will have some time to go to the Mall of America. I love to look at the shoes at Nordstrom's.

Okay, I'm tired so I'm going to get to bed. Happy knitting!!

Anger

I am in the angry stage of grief. I'm not mad at God or anyone, I'm just angry that Gracie is gone. I miss her. Thank you to my friends who have called, sent cards, and wonderful comments on my blog. I appreciate all of your kindness.

Tom has been gone to a manager's meeting in California since Thursday so I've been single parenting it. The time has gone fast and the kids have been pretty good. Tom will be home between 3:30 and 4:00. Just in time to settle in to watch the Super Bowl.

Maggie and I had some blood work done to check for food and chemical sensitivities. We can no longer have cow's milk, goat's milk, cane sugar, yeast, wheat, broccoli, and a lot of others. I can't have saccharine or aspartame, either. I've found Agave nectar and it seems to work okay in my cup of tea. I've tried to start drinking rice milk. It will take some getting used to, but I can do it. Maggie is having a harder time. She's a teenager and doesn't want to give up pizza, pop, junk food. This was her last weekend for a lot of that. She went to a sleepover both Friday and Saturday nights. My mission is to find a cook book to help me figure out what she can take to school for lunch. She also had a severe reaction to chlorine, so she needs to stop drinking city water. Thank goodness we have well water here at home. Just a new adventure in my job as mother.

I've done a gauge swatch for my Hanne Falkenberg Diva sweater and am working on another. I want to be sure I get right on gauge so the sweater fits and looks nice. It was a lot to spend on a sweater, but I really like the looks of it.

Off to go to the store and get some food ready for the Big game. I am hoping the Giants win. I just think the Patriots are a bit too full of themselves. (And they cheated in the beginning of the season)

PRECIOUS GRACIE.......


At 12:30 this morning Gracie threw another clot. She was in so much pain, it was terrible. We called the vet hospital and the on call vet met us at about 12:50 a.m. She was given a sediative to help with the pain and then we had to make the decision to euthanize her. It was so sad. Tom and I knew it was what we needed to do, but it was still very hard. Our friends Brian and Stacy were with us. We had all gone out for dinner earlier and then went back to our house so the big boys could play tennis and golf on the Nintendo Wii. It was really kind of them to follow us to the vet and stay with us.

I've never seen my husband cry so hard. I've known him for 17 1/2 years and haven't seen him cry like that. He really loved Miss Gracie a lot and she loved her Daddy. Our home is a bit empty today. The boys are taking the loss really well. Maggie was at a friends house for a sleep over, so she doesn't know yet. She will be pretty sad.

In June the vet told us we would have 60 days with her, and we ended up getting almost 8 months. I really tried to make the best of each and everyday with her. She was a sweet kitty and I loved having her cuddle on my lap and purr. I'm going to miss my precious little Gracie.

DO I LOOK COLD? This was what I looked like on Sunday night at the game in Green Bay. Yes, it was freezing there!! I did get cold even though I had two coats on plus snow pants, hats, mittens, etc. We were so sad that they lost. I think I was in shock actually. No Super Bowl for us. My husband is still taking the loss hard. He was really hoping to go to the Super Bowl. Who knows if we'll get another chance. Oh well, we are saving a lot of money, so that is a good thing.


This is a picture overlooking one of the parking lots. Our brother in-law Denny, Tom, our nephew, Travis, and me in the front. This was taken before the game, notice the happy faces?
Here is a cute picture of Maggie with her team during one of the games on Sunday. They didn't go very far in the tournament, so she was home by 6:00 that day. Maggie is the only face you can see. She had a very nice spike in one game and was happy that her dad, uncle, and cousin made it to the game in time to see her play and do well.

I finished one pair of mittens and am on to the next pair. Last night at church, two of Maggie's guy friends asked for mittens. One wants red mittens with black kidsilk, and the other wants black mittens with red kidsilk. Too funny. I must get knitting. Have a good day. Happy knitting!!

WINTER WONDERLAND, PACKER VICTORY, AND FINISHED OBJECT

Lots of pictures today. First we have the picture of the finished baby sweater for my great nephew, Bruce. Just in time for him to wear it for the NFC Championship game on Sunday. I am so happy that the Packers won!!

This is a close up of the football buttons I put on the sweater. I think they add just the right touch to the sweater.
This is a picture of the two men who sat behind us at the game on Saturday. (Dan and Tom)
It truly was magical. We felt like we were in a snow globe. That big white blob on the photo is a huge snow flake. It wasn't on my camera, but in front of the lens. So cool!
Before the game Tom and I stood in line so he could have Frank Winters and Antonio Freeman sign a mini helmet and a Sports Illustrated that had Antonio on the cover.
This is Tom and I near the end of the game. We could hardly see the players on the field. I know that this was the most fun I have had at Packer game ever.
We will be able to go to the NFC Championship game in Green Bay on Sunday. Maggie has a volleyball tournament in Merrill, WI so I will be getting up at 4:30 Sunday morning and we will leave at 5:00 to get her there at 7:30. Tom is planning on getting there around 11:00 to watch a few games and then we will head on to Green Bay. I think it is a two hour drive from Merrill to Green Bay. Maggie will ride home with another parent after the tournament.

I think I will get another Packer tatoo if they win and we go to the Super Bowl. I'm thinking of a small jersey with Favre's name and number on it. Probably on the same ankle as my Green Bay G, just on the outside of my leg. I'm sure some of you think I'm nuts, and maybe I am. I just love my Packers so much.

I'm going to start a pair of mittens today and hope to get them done for Maggie's friend, Alexa by Wednesday. Think I can do it?

Well, I'm off to work out!! Wish me luck! Happy knitting!

I think I've swallowed a cow.....

Okay, so I didn't really swallow a cow, but I had an endoscopy done and they put a little transmitter into my esophogus. Have you ever swallowed a vitamin, pill, ect. and had it get stuck in your throat? Well, that is how I am feeling. It is not pleasant to say the least. I have to wear this beeper like thing until Saturday morning to monitor the ph level in my stomach and esophogus. Then I take it to the hospital on Sunday and they hook it to a computer and read the data. I have been having digestion issues and have severe acid reflux. I haven't been able to take my Nexium for over a week so they could do this test. I am not a happy girl. Hopefully we will figure out what is going on and I will start to feel better. I am almost finished with the baby sweater. Tom and I are going to Green Bay on Saturday to watch the Packers play the Seahawks. I'll have time to knit on the way over and hopefully finish it. I am very excited to go to the game and I really want the Packers to win and go to the NFC Championship game. If they go to the Super Bowl we will be able to go watch them. The Packers had a random drawing from the season ticket holders, and we scored two tickets. This is a once in a lifetime thing, and I'm really keeping my fingers crossed that they win and get to the Super Bowl.

Well, since it is nearly 1:00 a.m. I should try and go to sleep. I'll have to prop up a lot of pillows and sleep on an angle. This really sucks!!

Do you think Todd was bored? While I've been reading blogs and catching up this morning, he was quite busy playing in my yarn. Guess what I'll be doing this afternoon? Rewinding a lot of yarn. He is so darn cute, but very naughty. I just love that face though and it is hard for me to get mad at him. He probably knows that, so that's why he is such a stinker. It could be worse. :)

Our New Year's Eve plans didn't go exactly like we wanted. We did enjoy a delicious dinner at our favorite place, Houligan's. We just had a feeling we should check on the kid's before going to our movie. When we got home the boys were pretty wild. They weren't acting very appropriate and using some "colorful" language. We decided to stay home. Maggie had three friend's over for the night, so it was just as well that we were here when their parents dropped them off. I was in bed by 9:30. I got a good night's sleep and that was wonderful.

Yesterday we went to see Tom's mom. She was looking pretty good. She had some nausea so had to stop her physical therapy early. She was just getting back into bed when we got there.

Okay, well I'm off to start working on that yarn mess. Hopefully I will have time to work on the Baby Albert coat I started for my great nephew. It is coming along nicely. Happpy knitting!!

HAPPY NEW YEAR AND HAPPY ANNIVERSARY!!!!




Today is our 16th wedding anniversary. Wow, I can't believe how fast the time has gone. I wish you all a very Happy and Healthy New Year.

MERRY CHRISTMAS......from my family to yours.


Here are the leg warmers that I made for my mother-in-law. Finally, I have a finished object to share on this knitting blog.
My family Christmas went really well on Saturday. We all had a good time. We were expecting a winter storm, so most everyone was gone by 4:00. The snow didn't start until 8:00 or so, but I'm glad everyone got home okay. I'm looking forward to some quiet time with my own family tonight and tomorrow. It will be very low key and wonderful.

Hope you all have a wonderful Christmas. Happy knitting!!

Ready or not......

Tomorrow my family is coming down to celebrate Christmas. I baked 8 dozen cookies and will be participating in a cookie exchange this morning with my Bible Study friends. This afternoon I plan on cleaning and then getting the egg bakes ready to put in the fridge. The tables will get set and then hopefully I can enjoy tomorrow. I've finished wrapping the gifts (which by the way, my boys have unwrapped a few of their own presents and re-wrapped them again!!), cards have been sent, and decorating is done. Why do I do this to myself? I'm trying to have a magical time for my family, but the stress is killing me. Christmas comes no matter if I get all this accomplished or not, so why do I feel the need to do this every year?

Tom's mom would love to be preparing for Christmas, so I need to be thankful that I am able to do all of these things for my family. Tom and I brought a small tree to her and decorated it. It really does look nice in her room and brings some holiday cheer for her. She is getting stronger and we are hoping that she continues to build her strength so she can get out of bed for longer periods of time. She is an amazing woman whom I love dearly.

Okay I'm off to get ready for my cookie exchange. Hopefully I can blog again before Christmas and show you all a finished project!! Happy knitting!

Tom wanted me to post a different "elf" because he was a girl in the last one. So here it is

I am done decorating for Christmas. Yeah!! My cards will be ready to send out by Friday and next week will be for baking and getting ready for my family on Dec. 22.

Tom's mom will be going to the nursing home tomorrow. She is walking with a walker now and is feeling better. We are thankful for each day we have with her. The doctor doesn't know how much longer we have with her, but we are hopeful that it is a few more months. I actually started a baby sweater over the weekend. It is for my great-nephew, Bruce, and I was hoping to give it to him for Christmas, but I'm not going to stress over getting it done by then. I will probably have more time during the kids Christmas break to get some knitting done.

We may not have all of Tom's family here for Christmas Eve after all. Some of us got together last Saturday night at a niece's house, so we may just go to church and have dinner with just the five of us. That sounds nice right now. Okay, I'm off to get some much needed sleep. Happy knitting!!

Funny thing to share.....
enjoy!

LIFE HAPPENS



Well, again I have no knitting news. Where do I begin to explain the craziness of the past few weeks? My mother-in-law has been in the hospital since Tuesday, Nov. 13. We didn't think she would live past the weekend. Well, she is doing better and will have to go to a nursing home. Her cancer that she has been fighting for the past 5 years is back and there is nothing they can do at this time. She has a nasty sore and infection that won't heal. Her kidneys were starting to shut down and she was bleeding into her bladder. They have stablized her and she may be able to go to the nursing home sometime this week.


We were going to go to Madison for Thanksgiving, but Tom's brother and his wife and son came up here instead. I found out Monday that I was hosting Thanksgiving dinner for possibly 13-17 people. We managed to get the house in order, an aero bed purchased and put together with a nice feather bed on top, grocery's bought and dinner made, and I survived to write about it. :) My sister-in-law has a drinking problem, and was drunk for the three days they were here. I confronted her Saturday morning when she woke up and told her she wasn't welcome in my house until she sobers up. I grew up with an alcoholic father and I don't have to put up with that in my house. She is going to kill herself if she doesn't stop drinking. She was on a liver transplant list two years ago, but stopped drinking for a while and her liver recovered a bit. She went into treatment for two weeks in May, but started drinking shortly after that. I told Tom's brother that I was going to confront her and he said that I should. He has tried to help her, and is now just taking care of himself and their son. I feel so bad for him. I let him know that he and their son are welcome here anytime, but she isn't. He said that he will be back in two weeks to see his mom and that he'll leave her at home.

I think that was one of the hardest things I've ever had to do, but I just had had enough. My daughter knew something was wrong and so I explained everything to her. The boys spent most of the time playing video games in the basement, so I don't think they even noticed. I found two coffee mugs hidden around my kitchen full of gin on Friday night. That was when I decided that she needed to be confronted. She had fallen down my stairs before we went out to dinner Friday night, and told me she meant to do that. I'm not stupid and I knew she was drunk, but I didn't see her actually getting the gin out of the cabinet. When I found the mugs full of gin, I told my brother-in-law and we had a long talk. He is so sad and loves her so much. He told me that he knows he should kick her out and get her an apartment, but he said that he can't live with the guilt if she drinks herself to death alone. It is a sad situation.
I hope she goes into a thirty day treatment center and then works to stay sober. I know that she has a disease, but only she can make the decision to get sober.

I will be hosting Christmas with my family on Dec. 22 and then Tom's family will be here for Christmas Eve. I will be taking more time away from my blog and knitting. I plan on being back here after Christmas. I don't know if I have any readers left, but I want you to know that I am still reading blogs (when I can) and hope you all have a wonderful Christmas season.

Happy knitting!!

Mini Vacation....

I went to Geneva, Illinois on Friday and got back last night. I went to visit my friend, Becky, who moved from Eau Claire to Geneva in August of 2006. It was great to see her and spend some time away from the kids. It was just what I needed. We shopped for accessories for my house and I came home with some great stuff. I stayed within my budget, and boy was that hard! I want to go back in the spring, so I knew that I needed to be good this time. She has three boys the same ages as my kids. They were so good while I was there.

Geneva is a beautiful city. The shops were unique and it was such a joy to get to shop in a different area. I hate to admit this, but we saw three yarn shops and I didn't go into any of them. I know, what a shock! I really have a lot of yarn, and this trip was meant to get stuff for my house.

I haven't knit at all in over a week. I'm not a very good knit blogger these days. Life just happens sometimes. The kids have had big projects to work on and that adds to my stress. The projects are now complete and maybe I can take a breath. We are having the hardwood floor in the dining room refininshed and filled in. The previous owners who built the house just put hardwood around the perimeter of the room and had carpet in the middle. We have decided to just finish the room and not have carpet in there. My dining room table is in the study, the hutch and piano are in my kitchen. The plan is to start the floor on Wednesday or Thursday. I am so glad we are able to get this done before Christmas.

Okay, I have rambled on enough. Sorry that I've been away for a month. I'll try to post at least once a week.

And the winner is.....

Sarah of knit7together. Send me your address and I'll get your yarn in the mail asap. Thanks to the people who commented. I can't believe I've been blogging for a year already. How fast the time flies.

I'm so sad the Packer's lost last night!! It was like they just forgot to play the other half of the game!!! Oh well, they have a lot more games to play and hopefully win. Tom and Patrick had fun going over to Green Bay with our neighbors, Tom and Gus. It was the first time for them to be at Lambeau Field and also Gus' first pro football game. They are Bears fans, but we still like them. :)

I went scrapbooking Friday night and all day on Saturday. I was able to catch up on my Christmas book and start one for Todd. Now my plan is to get pictures and stuff organized for Grant's book. I will be going on a retreat November 9-11, and that will enable me to get a lot done in his book. Maybe I'll even get "caught" up. If I just did a few pages a day it wouldn't be such a task, but I don't have any place to keep all the supplies out. I must get my old sewing room cleaned out and put together for a scrapbooking room.

I woke up yesterday with my left eye swollen almost shut. It was the weirdest thing. It's not red or yucky, so I don't think I have pink-eye, but I went to the doctor just in case. She wasn't sure, but is treating me for pink-eye. I have drops to put in 4 times a day. She also wanted me to take Claritin for a week to see if that helps. This is so strange. My puffy lower eye is touching my glasses!! Okay, I'm off to turn the heel on a sock. Happy knitting!!

How's this for distraction?......Cute puppy and a contest!


I have to apologize for the lack of knitting content on this "knitting" blog. I'm not sure what happened to my knitting mojo, but it is just not present at the time. I'm still working on the felted slippers and that's it. I may start a sock today since it is October and time for Socktoberfest. Here is a picture of my cute/naughty puppy! I just love this dog. He will be one on October 26 which also happens to be my husband's birthday too. He loves to find Patrick's shoes!! Now, if the shoes were put in their correct spot this would be a difficult task, but since they are usually just left by the back door, it's not too much of a problem. Just as long as someone catches him before the shoes get eaten!!

On Thursday, Oct. 4 it will be my one year blogiversary!! So I am having a contest. All you have to do is comment and tell me a cute pet story. Pretty simple. As you can tell, I love my pets a lot and have many funny stories I can tell about them. Please share some with me. I will give one commenter a skein of Dream in Color Smooshy yarn in the Nightwatch colorway. I can't seem to locate my camera ( think a child "borrowed" it), but I'll put one up asap. Comments will be taken until Sunday, Oct. 7. I'll just put the numbers in a hat and have a kid pick a number. Thanks!!

Just a quick post..

I really don't have much to say today, but since it has been a week since my last post I thought I'd add a little one today. School is going well for the kids so far. Maggie is having fun playing volleyball for South Middle School. Grant had a good time at the Homecoming dance last week. Patrick is having fun seeing his friends everyday at school, the learning part of his day is not his priority, but he is doing fine. I got one of Tom's felted clog slippers done and am working on the second. Patrick saw the first one and said, "Mom, I think that is a bit big for dad!" After I explained the felting process, it made more sense to him. Okay, that's all. Sorry, this hasn't been the most exciting blog lately, but that's my life right now. Happy knitting!

MHS Homecoming.....

I just dropped Grant off at his first high school dance. Doesn't he look handsome? Okay, I know I'm his mom, but still....I think he looks great. This was weird for me! The first of many new and exciting experiences with a high school child. I hope he has a good time. He asked a girl to go, but she already had a date. Some of his friends are going with dates, and others are just meeting him there.

I had a nasty cold earlier this week, so I was in bed for two days. I'm feeling a lot better now. I purchased some yummy yarn this week...ready...it is qiviut. It is red and so very soft. I'm going to make a lacy scarf for myself. It was just the right thing after the crazy few weeks I've had.

Today I started some felted clog slippers for Tom. He went to the UW Badger game in Madison with some friends and then they are going to the Packer game in Green Bay tomorrow. I hope to finish them before he gets home tomorrow night. I went to the apple orchard today and I'm going to make apple bars with some of the apples I got. The weather today was just beautiful. I love fall. Also, Desperate Housewives begins tomorrow!! I'm so excited for all my shows to start up again. I'll be watching Grey's on Thursday night.

I forgot to mention that I got my Ravelry invite. I'm having fun exploring. It is a lot to take in. I'm Packerfan in there, so come find me sometime. Well, I'm going to go watch a movie and work on the slippers. Happy knitting!!

Back to the doctor......

This time with the boys. They both have strep throat!!! Ugh! It's only the second week of school!! Help me!! They were complaining last night of sore throats and I told them to see how they felt this morning before deciding if they should go to school or not. Well, they both woke up and said that their throats hurt quite a bit. I kept them home from school and we went to the doctor this afternoon and now they are both on Amoxicillin. Patrick seems to be doing better than Grant. Grant has been whining all day long. I'm sorry he is sick, but oh my goodness. I don't need to hear the whining for hours and hours. It's not like he is two or three years old!! Yikes!

I have no knitting news at all:( I'm not quite sure where this week has gone, but I haven't done much knitting at all. Hopefully tomorrow the boys will be better and won't need quite so much attention and I can get some knitting time in. I will not be going back to school now or in the future. Tom really doesn't want me to. My job is taking care of the family and that's just the way it is. The time from now and when Patrick graduates from High school will just fly by. I will have to see how I feel in eight years, whether I want to pursue a new career or not.

I hope the sun shines tomorrow, I really don't like cloudy days. I'm going to get into bed and snuggle with the dogs. Happy knitting!

Interesting news......

One of Maggie's friends is in the hospital with cryptosporidium. She has lost 10 pounds and is very dehydrated. She is in the same hospital that we first went to last Monday. The hospital called us tonight to tell us about this friend and also to say they knew Maggie had some of the same symptoms. Well, let me tell you, I was not very nice and told the woman who called that we were sent home with instructions to take Advil and Imodium. She told me that she wanted us to get a stool culture done. I then told her that we went to Luther Hospital and had better care and the first thing they did was to order the culture. Maggie's tests came back negative, but I called my doctor right after I got off the phone with Sacred Heart, and she told me that sometimes you can get false negatives. It would explain all of Maggie's symptoms and she felt that if they would have listened to me and taken the stool sample right away it may have been positive and, we may have saved a lot of time and money without doing the stupid ultrasound. The doctor can't say for sure that Maggie has/had cryptosporidium or not, but it seems likely. The girls were at the same pool party a week ago on Wednesday. Maggie did a great job of trying to drink a lot of water and Gatorade. That's what saved her from becoming severely dehydrated. So far Maggie hasn't had any diarrhea for 24 hours, so we may be on the up side of all of this. Maggie ate some cereal tonight, so we'll see how that goes. She has lost 5 pounds in the last week. She looks much better today and is happier. I hope she continues to be able to eat more foods and get stronger. She is anxious to get back to school and a normal routine.

One word of advice, if you choose to take it, if you aren't satisfied with a doctor or hospital, don't feel bad about seeking another opinion. I know that people are human and make mistakes, but when it comes to the health of my kids, I have learned to question things. Okay, I'll get off my soap box.

Tom and Grant had fun at the Packer game, but they left before the end of it!! I couldn't believe it when they called me and asked me to DVR the end of the game. Tom's brother wanted to leave so they did. Crazy! I wouldn't have left and Tom said he won't do to that again! I love it when my team wins. I have to admit, it was a boring game though. I wore my socks and they kept my feet nice and warm. I love this crisp fall weather. Well, I'm off to spend some time with my Chevron scarf and watch football with Tom. Happy knitting!!

What a difference a good night's sleep makes. I'm feeling less overwhelmed today. I know that the doctor's will figure out what is wrong with Maggie and she will start to feel better soon.
This first picture is of the boy's clothes that were laid out in the bathroom the other night. They have been trying to get prepared the night before school, so the mornings go a bit smoother for us all. I saw the post-it note on Grant's clothes and it touched me so much I just had to take pictures.

This is what Patrick had written for his big brother....
I thought that was so sweet. They fight like cats and dogs, and then it find something like this. After I took the picture, I went upstairs to bed and they were sleeping in Grant's bed. Crazy! If I made them share a room they would hate it. I'm glad for the good moments, it helps get through the rough ones.
This picture was taken on Wednesday, Patrick's first day of school. I'm happy to report that Grant is feeling much better about high school and enjoys the freedom of going off campus for lunch. I'm sure that when the snow starts to fly and the temperature drops it won't be as much fun, but for now if this helps him get through his day, then I'm fine with it.
Finally, my Packer socks/anklets. They are done just in time for the first game tomorrow. Tom and Grant will be going to GB for the game. I will be home with the other two. Maggie was suppose to start her fall softball season tomorrow, but under the circumstances she won't be. I'm hoping that she will be able to go to school on Monday for at least part of the day.

I requested her homework yesterday, and when I stopped in after school, there wasn't any! How can that be? She has missed the first week of school. I know her friends have had work, because I've talked to some parents. I'm a bit upset about them not getting me her work. I don't want her to get farther behind than she already is. She wants to get caught up too. I just don't understand when you have a parent and student willing to try to keep up and contact the school, why the teacher's couldn't follow through. Please don't send me any comments on how hard teacher's work. I know that, I used to be a teacher. My only thing is, is that if they have assigned homework for the whole class, how hard would it be to let the counselor's office know what those assignments were?

Well, I'm going to relax today and knit. The weather is beautiful, so I may even sit outside. (If the mosquitoes don't get me) Have a great weekend! Happy knitting!

Well, Maggie went to school yesterday for a few hours then came home to rest. She had another CT scan today, and we haven't heard anything. They took lots of blood to test yesterday, and we have some results that were normal, but no answers to explain her pain or bowel distress. I'm frustrated and worried about her. Today after the CT scan I had her come home and try to eat something. She had an English muffin and so far she is doing okay. She took a long nap and the pain is better. The doctor may want us to go to Mayo Clinic in Rochester to see a pediatric GI specialist. I'm waiting to hear from the clinic. Please keep her in your thoughts and prayers.

My Packer socks are finished, but I haven't taken the time to take a picture. I'm currently working on finishing up my crocheted sweater and have been working on a Chevron Scarf from Last Minute Knitted Gifts. I may post again later tonight or tomorrow. I just need to go take a nap and recharge. Happy knitting.

Emergency Room Knitting....

Last night Maggie and I spent six hours in the ER. She has been having stomach issues since Saturday. After my post yesterday, she told me that her right side hurt more than anything in her life. We went to the ER where they proceeded to do an ultrasound to check for a cyst on her ovary. That was negative, so they had her drink this large glass of something so they could do a CAT scan. Her appendix looked okay, so they sent us home with instructions for taking Ibuprophin for pain. Well, this morning she woke up with the dry heaves and much more pain. I called another dr. who told us to go back to the ER. This time we chose another hospital in town, and I was very pleased. They gave her an IV with pain medication and something for her nausea. They ordered the tests from the other hospital, checked them out, and told us they did not think it was a burst cyst, but a nasty GI disorder. They are doing a culture for some parasites, and I would list them here, but my mind isn't working the best after only four hours of sleep. Maggie is taking Vicodin for the pain and some other thing for the nausea and seems to be resting comfortably now. It was awful seeing her in that much pain. She told me that she is going to adopt a child from Jamaica, because she can't imagine being in pain for many hours during labor. Isn't that cute? I bet she will change her mind in about 15 years.

My day of sipping tea and relaxing didn't happen. Oh well, that's life. I did get a lot of knitting done, but haven't taken pictures yet. Grant hated school today. He couldn't find the right bus after school, so walked to his dad's office. I didn't know he was going to do that, and freaked out when he didn't get off the bus. A friend called me to tell me she saw him walking down a street near the high school. I got in the car and drove around looking for him. I didn't see him, so I went to Tom's office and there he was. I was relieved and mad at the same time. He said to me,"I just remembered that I should have called you!" He was in tears tonight because he said that none of his friends from middle school are in his classes, and he doesn't know anyone. I tried to assure him that a lot of the freshman are feeling much the same way, but that didn't help. I agreed to pick him up tomorrow and figure out something about the bus situation in a few days. I know that he has a difficult time making friends, but I can't change his classes. He is in classes that are appropriate for his level, and that is just the way it is. We'll just have to take it one day at a time. Okay, I need to get some sleep. Hopefully I will have pictures tomorrow. Happy knitting.

Reflection.....


Most people reflect on the year at the beginning, in January. Well, I found myself doing this today. Last Labor Day I was in a lot of pain due to my back and I remember spending time reading knitting blogs. It was a wonderful way to spend my day. I was excited for the kids to start school, but was a bit sad because I knew I would miss them. Today, I read some blogs, worked on cleaning up my desk, did some paper crafting, listened to podcasts, knit, and did some laundry. I am not sad about the kids starting school. I really need a break from the fighting and constant mess in the kitchen. My back isn't really any better, I'm just getting used to the discomfort. I stopped working out regularly about a year ago because of my back issues, and now find myself heavier than I'd like to be. I love to eat and don't always want to make the best choices. Well, it is time to get serious again. I must start to write down everything I eat and exercise. With the start of a new school year I don't have the excuse of being home with the kids.

I find myself in awe that I have one of my kid's starting High School. I hope he has a good time during his years at Memorial. Can it really be 20+ years since I walked into my high school as a freshman? What a day that was. I know that I'll blink and the next four years will be history and he'll be going to college.

Maggie is excited about 8th grade(well the social part anyway). She will be playing fall softball as well as volleyball. I think that 8th grade was one of my favorites of all my years in school. She is growing up so fast and is becoming a beautiful young woman.

Patrick is entering his last year of elementary school. It seems like yesterday when I was taking him to kindergarten. I remember on the way to school him asking me, "Mom, who will you have tea with now?" It was so bittersweet. I find myself looking forward to a peaceful cup of tea on Wednesday morning when they are all in school.

The Packer socks are almost done, so I may have a picture on Wednesday. I forgot to mention in my post about the Fair, that Shelly gave me two skeins of her dyed yarn. They are beautiful! Thanks, Shelly. Well, I'm off to have dinner with my family and work on the socks. Happy knitting!

Minnesota State Fair
This is Shelly and me in the Miracle of Life Building. We actually were there moments after a ewe had given birth to triplets. Amazing.

It was wonderful getting to meet Shelly and her family in person. She is a very sweet and kind woman and I am so glad we were able to work out a time to connect. When we went to the building to see the knitting I was blown away by the blue ribbon winners. The fair isle sweater that I saw was beautiful. The crocheted baby sweater was beautiful as well. We have some very talented knitters in our midst.

Shelly and I had some yummy fair food and that's all I will say about that. :) It would be fun if this could be an annual event. I'm thankful that her hubby was able to leave work a bit earlier than usual and was willing to care for Julie and Sophie for the evening. By the way, the girls are so darn cute. If you read Shelly's blog, then you have seen their pictures. Believe me they are even cuter in person. Thanks, Shelly, for the wonderful time.

Tonight we are going to one of the neighbor's houses for cocktails to jump start the holiday weekend. I don't think we have anything else planned, so I am looking forward to getting some quality knitting time in. Hopefully Tom will take the boys to do something fun for the afternoon tomorrow or Sunday. They have been a challenge this week. In my opinion, summer has been two weeks too long. I see no reason why they can't start school before Labor day. When I taught in Albuquerque, we started around the second week of August and were done the end of May. It seemed to work out just fine. Okay, rant over.

I hope you all have a great long weekend and happy knitting!

Where has the time gone? It has been awhile since my last post. I didn't finish my sweater in time for the class reunion, but that's okay. I just have the sleeves to do. I got a bit mixed up and couldn't figure out how to finish the sleeves and didn't have time to run down to YDK
to get help. Cindi is on vacation this week, so I'll catch up with her next week and finish it.

I get to meet Shelly aka The Heathen Housewife.
I am going to the Minnesota State Fair with her on Wednesday. I can't wait to see her in person. We talked on the phone tonight and she is wonderful. It will be nice to check out the wonderful knitted items that have been entered at the Fair. We plan on eating our way through the evening. I will get to meet her beautiful girls too. I can't wait.

The class reunion was so much fun. I got to see many of my old friends and we had a blast recalling the crazy things we all did together in high school. I think that in these past five years, some of the guys changed the most. There were some there that I had to ask if they were spouses or classmates. It was weird. I saw one of my dearest guy friends whom I hadn't seen in 10 years. I got all teary eyed when I hugged him. We had some great times during high school as well as college. I'm glad I went. I was hesitant to go because I wanted to be thinner, but it didn't matter once I got there and saw everyone. We all have changed, it is to be expected after 25 years right?

Maggie and I went to the Nanny Diaries tonight. It was pretty good. I have decided that when a book is turned into a movie, I shouldn't expect too much. I really liked the book better, but we still enjoyed it. Okay, so off to bed for me. I'll post pictures tomorrow of the Packer sock and my class reunion. Happy knitting.

I survived!!

The birthday party is over. The rain just kept going all day but the girls did end up going swimming and they all seemed to enjoy themselves. Thank goodness for heated pools. Some of them decided to have a food fight in the basement. I was not happy at all about that. Maggie and two of her friend's picked it up and all is okay now. I didn't expect that from 13 year old girls. The tie-dyeing went very well and my kitchen survived.(we couldn't go outside because of the rain.) It is a lot to do with 23 kids but it was fun and they were all happy when they went home. Maggie decided it is easier to go to parties than host them. I'm glad, so I'm off the hook for anymore parties. Next year a few friends and that's it.

I'm exhausted so I am going to bed.

PANIC

Okay, so I am in panic mode right now. What was I thinking? Physics and Chemistry?! I am really starting to doubt my brain power. I need to take a deep breath and calm down. I think it is the fear of failing and looking bad in my kids eyes. For all these years I've been helping them with their school work and encouraging them, telling them they can do anything they put their minds to. Now I guess I need to "practice what I preach." I'm a scatter brain....there I put it out there. I am doubting my ability to retain information and then put it into practice. Heck, I go to the grocery store with a list and it still seems like I forget a key ingredient for a recipe. I just need to calm down and take each day as it comes. I'm sure everything will be fine.

It is currently 60 degress outside and raining! What a day for a pool party. It figures. Oh well, we can still have pizza and watch movies. Tye-dyeing the shirts may have to wait for another time. I'm off to get the munchies and pop. Have a good day.

I'm a student....

Well, what does a stressed out mother of three do to relieve stress? She registers for two classes!! Yesterday I registered for Physics and Chemistry. For those of you who haven't known me for very long, this is a strange and scary thing for me to do. I wasn't very fond of science and math in high school. Well, since I want to go into the Ultrasound program, I need these two classes to get started. I figure if I can't handle these classes, then maybe I shouldn't waste anymore time and money to continue with the program. I am confident that I can do this and I really need to for my self-esteem. Being a stay-at-home mom for the past 14 1/2 years has been wonderful but very trying at times. I am not a therapist or doctor and I just can't fix the issues that Grant has. It has been hard to admit that but it is true. He has a developmental disorder and nothing I can do will change that. I'm currently looking for another therapist for him and have to hope that someone will be able to get through to him.

The boys are off to Milwaukee today for a Brewer's game. Maggie is having her birthday party tomorrow night. We are expecting 20 girls:) The plans are for swimming, pizza, and tye-dying shirts. It will be a lot of fun. Maggie has really nice friends and it am actually looking forward to spending time with these girls. Tonight she is going to watch High School Musical 2 with some friends. I will have the house to myself for a few hours. I plan on working on my sweater and cuddling with the pets.

Have a good weekend and happy knitting!

Well, Patrick is doing better. I had to change the bandages and clean the burn last night. Notice the pink wrap. Maggie had this for her knee injury, so it was what we used. Thank goodness for 3/4 length sleeves. :) It was harder for me than him. As I was washing the area with soap and gauze, I kept asking him if I was hurting him. He was so good and told me, "I'm fine, Mom." We got it all cleaned up and put new bandages on. I am so thankful that most of the water landed on the counter top and not on him. This is so difficult to deal with. My own child doing this horrible thing to his own brother. I need to comfort the one and want to strangle the other!! I woke up yesterday and couldn't turn my head at all to the right. Went to see my chiropractor and got some eletric stim on the area and a nice adjustment. I go back today and tomorrow for more of the same. I can move my head now without too much pain. It is amazing how stress affects your body. I couldn't even knit yesterday. I am going to go now and try to work on a sock. Happy knitting.

Sadness.....

I just found out that one of our pastor's is leaving to go to another church. Pastor Mary is more than a pastor, she is a friend. I am going to miss her so much. She taught knitting classes at our church and was instrumental in forming our Purly Gates knitting group at church. She will be a wonderful addition to her new church.

In other news, my oldest threw boiling water at my youngest and we had to take him to the ER. He has 2nd degree burns on his right upper arm. Patrick didn't do anything to provoke Grant to do this, I just don't know what to do with that kid!

I'm exhausted and going to bed. Hopefully tomorrow will be a better day.

Warning....Picture Heavy Post....
Here is a picture of Maggie holding Bruce, last Monday at the hospital. Hopefully we will get up to New Richmond sometime this week to see him again.

This is a picture of the sweater I am crocheting. I hope to have it done in time for my 25th class reunion on August 25.

Here is a picture of my Packer sock in progress from the yarn that Shelly dyed for me.

This picture is of the yarn that I got from Scout. I really love the skein she dyed for me to match Gracie. She is calling the colorway, Kitty. The other skein is for more Packer socks. I know, I am a bit obsessed with my football team, but I can't help it. I love 'em!


We have Patrick's party tonight for his All-Star team. Pizza and pop at the ball field. How fun is that? I don't have to cook so it is a wonderful night for me. Today has been a crazy day running errands so I am looking forward to the party and some down time. I am planning on trying to clean out the basement and organize my scrapbooking supplies and get my yarn stash photographed. I am hoping that my invitation to Ravelry
will be arriving sometime in the next week or two. Okay, I'm off to change some laundry around and get some crocheting done.

I will try and post pictures tomorrow. Where does the time go? Okay, I now have two new family members. My niece had her baby boy, Bruce, last Sunday morning. Tom's nephew and his wife had their baby boy, Brecken, on Thursday morning. Both babies and mom's are doing great. I love newborns!! They are so sweet and smell so good. I haven't seen Brecken in person yet, but hope to this week. He looks adorable in the pictures though. The kids and I went to see Bruce on Monday. He is adorable too.

I am plugging away at my crocheted sweater. I have started a Packer sock and am almost ready for the heel.

I am going to bed now. I am frustrated with my boys and I just need to get a good nights sleep. Why can't they follow our rules? I am going to have to hire a babysitter for my 14 1/2 year old!!! We went to a surprise party for Tom's sister and they left the house without permission. We have told them they are to stay in the house when we are gone, but they don't seem to listen. The bikes will be hung up in the garage for the time being. After an unfortunate text message to our nephew's neighbor last week, we've taken away Grant's cell phone. His behavior is terrible so the t.v. and computer are gone and now the bike. Do you think he'll figure out that we are the parent's and our rules matter? Time will tell.

FRIENDS AND FIBER

This is the birthday girl, Chris. Isn't she beautiful? I'd say she is 50 and fabulous!

Here are the girls from Yellow Dog Knitting with us at dinner. Left to right: Jaci, Sonya, Chris, Cindi, and Dixie. We all had a good time eating and laughing.

Now for the fiber goodness of the post. Shelly
dyed this Packer yarn for me. I also have some coming from Scout.
I have a lot of fans that could use a nice pair of socks this fall. Knowing myself, I'll want to keep them all for me. I think the skein on the right matches my crocs perfectly. I have a sweater that the skein on the left matches with. Aren't they wonderful? I know if you are a Minnesota fan or a Chicago fan, these are not so wonderful, but for me it is pure bliss to look at them!


















My heart goes out to all those involved in the horrible bridge collapse in Minneapolis. I have a lot of friends and family who frequently cross that bridge on a daily basis. What a terrible thing to have happen. It just makes me wonder why things like this happen.

Patrick has a ball tournament this weekend and I go pick up Maggie from camp tomorrow morning. I can't wait to see her. It's been a long week for me, but with the weekend coming up, Tom will be around more to help with the boys.

I'm working away at the crocheted sweater and enjoying it. Packer socks are coming along, so hope to have some good pictures to share in a few days. Happy Knitting!

Happy Birthday, Chris!!

Today is my best friend's 50th birthday!! I wish I could spend the whole day with her, but it's not in the cards. The boys have been a handful this week. I don't intend for this blog to be a place to whine about my kids, but man this has probably been one of the hardest weeks of parenting for me. I know we have spoiled the boys, so we are going to step back and re-evaluate things. For now they will not have tv's in their rooms any more. I know it was a mistake to begin with, and now we are taking care of that. I will not be buying anymore junk food, no matter how much they bug me. It just makes the behavior worse. Okay, ranting done.

I am taking them with me down to YDK
to help Chris pick out some yarn to make a sweater. They can just sit and be quite while I do this. How is that for punishment for three boys, ages 14, 11, and 10?

Pictures will follow later today. The girls from the Yellow Dog and I took Chris out for dinner on Tuesday to celebrate. It was very fun and we had a lot of laughter.

Crochet

The crocheting is coming along pretty well. I am enjoy the process and I like how the sweater will look.

I'm trying to distract myself because hubby let the boys go out to star gaze and I am a bit nervous. We live in a nicely wooded area with a meadow near by, but it gets very dark at night. I like having everyone in the house by this time of night. Our nephew is staying with us for a week, and I'm not sure how his mom would feel about him being out this late. They have another 19 minutes to be out there. I'm sure they are fine, I'm just a worry wart.

I took Miss Maggie to camp this afternoon. She was so excited. She is in a cabin with a lot of her friends, and some more friends are in a cabin about 20 steps away. I was remembering back to when she went to camp 5 years ago and how I cried so much when I dropped her off. It was the fear of the unknown for me. I hadn't ever been to this camp and she was so little. It was strange dropping her off in the care of two counselors that I hadn't met before. She had a great time and has kept going back. I remember that I slept in her room two of the nights she was gone!! I missed her so much that it hurt. I will still miss her this week while she is gone, but I won't sleep in her room and it doesn't hurt that much anymore. I guess this is all in the process of letting my child grow up and away. She informed me that when she is 16 she wants to be a counselor at this camp. Wow, she would be gone all summer. That will be hard, but a good learning experience for me. She will go to college someday and be gone for a lot longer. Why is it so painful to let your kids grow up?

Finished Baby Sweater



.....made from Blue Sky Cotton, Blue Sky Alpacas. Pattern is from the book Oneskein by Leigh Radford. This knit up very fast, just the seaming took me awhile. The baby is due two weeks, so any day now we could get a picture of him in his sweater.

I may have another picture to show you tomorrow. I am going to try to crochet a sweater. I'm going down to YDK
to have Cindi help me. Happy knitting!!

Jon Bon Jovi
Richie Sambora
Mr. Bon Jovi again!
A few pictures for you...enjoy. Off to take Maggie to VBS and Gracie to the cities. Happy Knitting!!

just got home from the U of MN with Gracie. The fluid is building up in her lungs again, despite being on medication. We probably have two weeks with her. I'm very sad.

P.S. the vet just called with her blood work results. Her kidneys look great. She told us to up the dose of her Furosemide and that will hopefully get the fluid to go away. Keep your fingers crossed, Gracie isn't ready to go yet. She is still fighting...maybe we can get a few more months.

I'M DONE!!

With the last Harry Potter book. I won't put anything on here to spoil it for anyone. Just read it!
I stayed up too late this morning (2:45) trying to finish it. I fell asleep and had to finish it later this morning.

I haven't knit for almost a week. That's what happens when you go to Country Jam for three days, a baseball tournament, and read a new book. I have to clean the house before Tom's brother and nephew get here on Saturday for a family wedding. Tomorrow I take Gracie back to the U of MN for a check up. I think they will do x-rays and another echo. She seems to be doing fine, so hopefully the tests will confirm that for me. I am too tired today to knit, so I guess some of the cleaning will get done. Have I told you all that I hate to clean? Yeah, I thought so. Oh well, that's part of the job. Have a good day. Happy knitting!

COUNTRY JAM!!

Wow, Maggie and I had a great time!! Lots of good music and fun. I can't believe I actually saw Jon Bon Jovi!!!! It was simply AMAZING! I know it is like screaming when you capitalize all the letters in a word, but I don't care! That was my intent. Reba was wonderful and she had Kelly Clarkson with her. Montgomery Gentry fantastic as well as our favorite, Trace Atkins. I bid on a signed guitar from him and we got it. It now has a new home in Maggie's room. I told her that if I find that on the floor in a messy room, it will become mine. We'll see how long the room stays clean. I'm guessing a few days.

Patrick's team took second in the baseball tournament. He did very well again.

I am so tired, so I am off to bed to read more of my new Harry Potter book and get a good night of sleep. Happy knitting!!

Okay, I was going to post pictures, but the kids used my camera and the battery needs charging! Ugh!

I am working on my June pattern from the Rockin' Sock Club.
Instead of using the yarn that came with it, I am using Crystal Palace Panda Cotton in the Caribean Blue color way. I love the yarn that came with my pattern, but the pattern is a bit busy and I wanted the work to show up. I will probably use the STR yarn for just a basic stockingnet stitch sock.

I am thinking of signing up for the Master's Knitter program. Anyone out there done it? Do you recommend doing it? Cindi at YDK has done it so I know she will be a help if I decide to go for it.

I won't be posting for a few days because Country Jam starts tomorrow. I will be going with Tom tomorrow and then Maggie and I will go on Friday and Saturday. Bon Jovi will be the headliners on Saturday night!! I can't wait. It is weird that my daughter loves this band as much as I do. I'll have lots of pictures on Monday.

Have a great weekend all and Happy Knitting!!

Okay, I just checked Shelly's blog and she is having a contest. Go on over and read the details and you may win some yarn and a book.

You have got to hear this. It made me cry!! Did you check it out? How amazing was that little girl?

My wrists, elbows, and shoulders are so sore from too much knitting. I forgot to take pictures of the baby pants I made to go with the sweater!! The shower was fun and the gift was appreciated. I hope to get some pictures of the new baby wearing the outfit. He is due on August 9. His name will be Brecken. Isn't that a neat name? Okay, I'm off to bed. Happy knitting!!

We went to see this at 12:01 a.m. on July 11. It was a good movie. We got home at 2:45a.m. I really liked the books better, but the movies are fun too.

I finished the baby sweater and I'll post a picture soon. Off to bed, I seem to be turning into a night owl. I'll have a rude awakening when school starts in Sept.!!! Happy knitting.

Oops, I forgot the picture!!

Monkey socks are finished!! Yipee!!!~ Yes, they are only ankle socks, but I was tired of working on them. I guess I just didn't feel the love that a lot of the knitters in the blogosphere did. I bound off too tight though, so I need to redo that. I am working on a baby sweater, so hopefully I can post a picture of that by Sunday. My great nephew is coming to stay with us tomorrow, so I'm not sure how much knitting I'll get done. He will be four at the end of this month, and we can't make it to his party because we have a wedding. I bought an ice cream cake from Culver's so we will have that tomorrow along with giving him his gift. He is so cute and funny!! I helped my niece when she was in labor and saw him being born. What an experience. I can't believe that was four years ago already. Have a good weekend and Happy knitting!!

HAPPY 4TH OF JULY AMERICA!!!